In this passage, Jesus makes it completely, totally, 100% clear Who He is. But if we are not careful…when we read our English Bibles we will read right over it. And, we will have no idea why the High Priest got so upset. This devotional is a little long, and a little challenging. But if you will read it closely…you will learn something amazing about Jesus.

Thoughts about God for My Grandkids:

If you were Royalty, you know, a King, or a Queen…then there is a good chance that you would have a long official Royal Title. An official Royal Title that describes all that you are and all that you do. For instance…

The Roman Emperor Commodus (by the end of his reign in 192 CE) was referred to as:

His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, Baron Greenwich, Royal Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, Extra Knight of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, Member of the Order of Merit, Grand Master and First and Principal Knight Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Knight of the Order of Australia, Additional Member of the Order of New Zealand, Extra Companion of the Queen’s Service Order, Royal Chief of the Order of Logohu, Extraordinary Companion of the Order of Canada, Extraordinary Commander of the Order of Military Merit, Lord of Her Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council, Privy Councillor of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada, Personal Aide-de-Camp to Her Majesty, Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom.

Now that is a mouthful. Just think, when they call him in for supper…he’d be half starved before they finally got all of his Title out!

Yesterday, we talked about the meaning of names…your names were first. Then, we talked about the significance of Jesus’ personal name and found that it means “God is salvation”.

When we read the New Testament we often see an important word that is used either in connection with the personal name of Jesus, or as a reference to Him. It is the word “Christ”. It comes from the Greek word, “Christos” that means “anointed one”, or “chosen one”. This is the same thing that the Hebrew word “Messiah” means. “Christ” is not the last name of Jesus, but a title. It signifies that Jesus was sent from God (chosen, anointed by God) to be a King and Deliverer. So, when you read the word “Christ” in the New Testament it is speaking of the “Messiah” of the Old Testament. When we put His personal name together with His title…we get Jesus Christ…that means, “Jesus the Anointed One,” or “Jesus the Messiah”.

There are hundreds of verses in the Old Testament in which God says that one day He would send the Messiah. They give a very clear and detailed picture of what the Messiah would be like in character, what kind of life He would live, and what His ministry would be like. Jesus revealed that He was the Messiah and the writers of the New Testament believed Him. That is why they used the term “Christ” to refer to Him.

When Jesus was on trial before the Jewish leaders, the High Priest (he was kind of like their President) asked Him a very direct and specific question. He said, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” Jesus responded in a way that could not be misunderstood. He said, “I Am; and you shall see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, AND COMING WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.” When He said that…the High Priest went ballistic. He grabbed the front of his long robe and ripped it in half! (Boy was Mrs. High Priest going to be mad.) Then he told everyone there that they didn’t need any more evidence that Jesus was guilty. He had just accused Himself. And they sentenced Him to death.

Okay…wasn’t he overreacting just a little bit? Not if you understand why he became so enraged. You see, when Jesus gave His answer…He clearly identified Himself as the Messiah. And in their eyes that was a troublesome thing because they knew that when the Messiah came…He would rule everything. They were right…and they were wrong. They were right because Jesus, the Messiah, does rule everything. He is the supreme ruler. They were wrong because they thought that He would set up an earthly kingdom. But Jesus’ kingdom is much larger than that. It is a Heavenly kingdom and that kingdom rules not just over the Jewish nation, but over every nation on earth. It is a kingdom of the heart that reaches around the world. It crosses over borders, and mountains, and oceans. It is worldwide and it affects everyone in every nation. The Jewish rulers were not willing to accept that kingdom. They wanted to stay in control and Jesus was a definite threat. So, I guess the High Priest was right to throw a little tantrum. Because the King of Kings had arrived. He was about to establish His worldwide kingdom of the heart. And there was nothing, absolutely nothing, that they could do to stop Him. Oh, they would kill Him and think that they had finished Him off and stopped Him. But what they didn’t realize is that His death was part of God’s plan. Ooops, how did that work out for you? By killing Jesus…He would die…but He would come back to life…and when He did, He brought His Kingdom with Him.

I live in America. I’m an American citizen and I’m proud to be one. I think that it is the greatest country on earth. But…I am first a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven and Jesus is my Lord, my ruler, my King. His Kingdom rules over every kingdom on earth. And here is the amazing thing. Each day I have a personal interview with the King. I talk with Him and He guides and directs my life. And, I talk with Him about you. Would you like to talk with the King of Heaven and earth? What’s on your mind? Just bow your head and pray. He’s waiting to hear from you, right now. I told Him that you would be coming.

Love you more than bunches and bunches,

Granddad

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Published by Dr. Jim Pennington

Senior Pastor at Temple Church in New Bern, North Carolina
Dr. Jim Pennington grew up in central Florida where he enjoyed sunshine, the surf and fresh squeezed orange juice. He attended the University of Florida where he accepted Jesus Christ and married Patty. He went on to graduate at Palm Beach Atlantic College, then received a Master of Divinity and a Doctor of Ministry from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry from Luther Rice Seminary. He has been serving in the ministry for over 40 years, most of that as a Senior Pastor. He and Patty have traveled the world together on vacations and mission trips from the Bahamas to Guatemala to South Africa to Tanzania to Israel to France to Italy to England and about a dozen more countries. They have flown in hot air balloons, fixed wing gliders, the Bud One Airship, and all kinds of airplanes. He says, "I would rather spend time with her than anyone else in the world." They have a daughter, Courtney, who lives with her husband and three boys in the Tampa, Florida area and a son, Jeremy, who lives with his wife, two boys and a daughter in Palmer, Alaska. He has a passion for hiking, hunting, fishing, scuba diving, skiing, zip lining, snow machining and pretty much anything outdoors. Dr. Jim Pennington says, "The reason that I love nature so much is because everywhere I look, I see God's fingerprints."
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